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Align Changes Proficiency Requirements Wm. Randol Womack, DDS Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

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Align Technology recently announced a change in the Proficiency Requirements that were put in place last year. I had an opportunity to speak with Tom Prescott, CEO of Align Technology about this change.

Tom, thanks so much for speaking with me today. Can you explain why Align originally started the proficiency requirements? What was the goal of the program?
Prescott: Last June, Align launched the Invisalign proficiency program with two objectives: to help ensure every Invisalign provider can achieve great results for his/her patients, and to ensure that we can direct any patient to any Invisalign provider and be confident that they’ll have a great treatment experience.

Many doctors complete an initial Invisalign training course and then just start a case or two each year – not enough to build any real confidence with the product and related techniques, and not enough to stay up to date on the latest product and clinical advancements.

We believe that hands-on learning gained through regular product use and continuing education are essential to getting the best possible results with Invisalign. That’s why we launched the proficiency program – to help doctors and patients get those best possible results.

If Align believes strongly in regular product use and CE, why did you drop the annual case requirement?
Prescott: It’s simple: we dropped the annual case requirement in response to our customers’ frustration and unhappiness with the case requirement.

We knew that the proficiency program was a big change for our customers, but we did not anticipate the intensity of our customers’ frustration with the program. Many customers were really upset by the program – even customers who were meeting the requirements.

Even though we remain committed to helping ensure great results for doctors and patients, we are equally committed to listening to our customers and responding when they tell us there is a problem.

Is Align dropping the case requirements because doctors weren’t meeting the requirements? Were case submissions dropping off?
Prescott: We’re making this change to alleviate the frustration and concerns of our customers. We’ve been pleased with our financial results over the last few quarters, and have even seen positive impact and success among lower volume doctors who became more engaged with Invisalign over the last few months.

Why drop the case requirement now as opposed to after the initial launch, when customer/ industry frustration was at its highest?
Prescott: We knew that it would take some time after the initial launch to fully communicate our goals to customers and work through this big change in the way we were doing business. When customers were initially very frustrated with the program, we thought that giving them additional time to work toward the requirements would help – so we announced an additional qualification period. However, customers remained upset about the program, so we wanted to listen and make the right changes.

We took the opportunity to announce the change at a time when we were about to see a lot of customers – at AAO, at some of Align’s own regional CE events, at CDA, etc.

What role did the AAO and other industry organizations play in Align’s decision?
Prescott: The AAO has been a good partner to Align throughout all of this, and has provided very candid feedback to us regarding AAO member concerns and complaints. We have really appreciated their leadership and counsel on this, and listened when the AAO leadership – along with the leadership of other organizations – recommended that we focus on continuing education rather than case requirements as a way to encourage product proficiency.

With that said, numerous other state and national dental organizations opposed the case requirement – these are groups with whom we’ve always had good working relationships. Those relationships are important to us, and we really listened to their feedback.

Why are doctors still required to complete 10 Invisalign CE hours per year?
Prescott: Invisalign is an evolving product and technique, and we believe that ongoing training and education are necessary to stay up to date with the steady stream of and clinical advancements.

Many organizations, including the AAO and ADA, have recommended that Align focus on continuing education curriculum, rather than case requirements, as a means of encouraging product proficiency.

Completing 10 Invisalign CE hours per year is pretty easy to do. Align has a robust clinical education curriculum with more than 200 hours of lecture-based and online learning opportunities each year, with all online content available 24/7 and at no cost to customers.

If hands-on learning through regular case use is important to successful outcomes with Invisalign, how will Align encourage doctors to do cases on a regular basis without the annual case requirement?
Prescott: We believe we can encourage doctors to build their experience and expertise with Invisalign without the annual case requirement. For example, we’re going to continue delivering product innovation and improvements that help doctors achieve the outcomes expect from Invisalign treatment. We believe that the stronger the product, the more doctors will want to use Invisalign for their patients.

We’re also focusing on new and improved customer loyalty programs that reward doctors who strive for expertise with Invisalign.

As part of the proficiency program, Align introduced Invisalign Preferred Provider status for doctors who met the annual requirements. What does Preferred Provider status mean now that the proficiency requirements are gone?
Prescott: Preferred Provider status is still an indication to consumers of a doctor’s Invisalign experience. Doctors who reach 10 or more Invisalign case starts a year will get that Preferred Provider designation, along with valuable marketing benefits.

While this is not a mandatory requirement, we hope that our customers will see the value and strive to achieve that status.

What has initial customer response been to dropping the case requirement?
Prescott: It’s early yet and responses to significant initiatives are always mixed. With that said, most of the feedback has been very positive, even from doctors who supported the proficiency program. Customers want to know that we are listening to them, and that we’re willing to make changes and adjust programs as needed to maintain our partnerships with them.

Do you still think that launching the proficiency requirements last year was the right thing to do?
Prescott: We still believe in our original objectives and still believe that regular product use and CE participation are important to success with Invisalign. But anything that alienates our customers and causes them considerable stress and frustration isn’t the right thing to do. We can work towards our original goals in ways that encourage great results and strengthen our relationships with our customers at the same time.

Do you have any final comments for our readers?
Prescott: Thanks, Randy. Going forward, Align will continue to help doctors and patients get great results by focusing on clinical education, product innovation and improvement, as well as our customer loyalty and reward programs.

Tom, I really appreciate this opportunity to discuss this very important issue with you. To learn more, please visit www.aligntech.com, or call 408-470-1000.
Orthotown Magazine
October 2025
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